Up to 150 jobs could be lost at Kerry Foods’ pies and savouries plant in Poole, Dorset, it was revealed yesterday.

The firm, which employs 860 full-time workers at the site, said the job losses could come about in a proposed restructure. The company has begun a 45-day consultation period.

Staff were told the restructure was necessary because of an increase in costs and a drop in orders.

A spokesman for Kerry Foods said: “The sector has been extremely competitive and market volumes have fallen over the past year or so.

Regrettable

“While we have engaged with our workforce in Poole with regard to improving efficiency, and a lot of work has been carried out on-site, it is regrettable the sector remains extremely competitive and the cost of raw materials has increased.”

The union Unite described the potential job losses as a “major blow to the local economy”.

In its preliminary results for the 12 months to 31 December, 2013, the Irish food group unveiled a group revenue of €5.8bn (£4.5bn), off the back of a 4.6% growth in underlying sales.